Bestselling Author Shares 3 Tips for Building Your Blog Audience

After moving from New York City to Chicago and getting married, Rachel Bertsche realized that her new life was missing one crucially important thing: a local best friend. So she decided to go on one friend date every week for a year, and she documented her quest on a WordPress.com blog at MWFseekingBFF.com.

But before Rachel even started the blog, the 27-year-old writer put together a book proposal based on her search for a local BFF, and successfully pitched it to agents, and then editors. She says, “After I sold the proposal, I decided to start a blog so that I could have a place to document my journey and some of the research I was finding. I also wanted to start building a community and to engage with readers.”

It’s now been over two years since Rachel first launched MWFseekingBFF.com. So did she accomplish her blogging goals? “Absolutely!” Rachel says, “When my book, MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend, came out, I had a whole audience for the memoir that wouldn’t have existed without my blog. And I made new friends through blogging — I’ve met some of my readers, and other bloggers, in real life. My book ended up becoming a National Bestseller and hitting the NY Times Extended Bestseller List. I continue to update the blog because I enjoy it, and also I have a lot of loyal and wonderful readers who seem to enjoy it.”

Rachel says that the discussions generated by her blog posts were a great aid to the book writing process. “Blogging also helped me uncover what issues surrounding friendship were most interesting to my readers, and brought me new ideas. Readers said things in the comments that would switch on a light bulb for me, or they often alerted me to new research on friendship. While my book is very different than my blog (it’s not a compilation of blog posts by any means), writing my posts made me feel like I had a platform to bounce book ideas off of.”

We asked Rachel to share her advice on how to grow your blog audience. Here’s what she had to say:

The first thing I did was to read and comment on other blogs that I thought had a similar audience to mine. Leaving thoughtful comments with a link back to your blog is a great strategy. But you need to actually engage, and respond to the post. Readers are smart. Comments that are clearly only self-promotion will be obvious. Don’t write, “Great post! I think you and your readers might also be interested in my blog [link here].” Instead, get into the discussion. Respond to the issue at hand.

When you go to leave a reply, don’t post your blog link in the comment. Readers understand that they can click on your name and I think leaving the link in the post reeks a bit of self-promotion. (To change the link, go Users → Personal Settings in your dashboard and find the Website field under Account Details.) If you regularly comment on someone’s blog, that person will likely eventually stop by and read your blog, too. I’ve found the blogging community to be one of the most inclusive and generous out there.

Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help. When I started out, I emailed some of the bloggers I most admired. I told them I loved their blog and asked their advice on how to find success. They were people who had clearly cracked the nut and each had their own tips for what worked for them. Then you can pick and choose.

Finally, give credit where credit is due. When I read a blog post that I love or that spurs an idea for my own blog, I always reference the post and link back. Blogging is about community and sharing, and this sets the tone. Just recently, I wrote a blog post inspired by a post on 1000AwesomeThings.com. I linked back, and hopefully turned a bunch of new readers onto the site. Because there was a decent amount of traffic sent to his blog, or maybe because he received a pingback, Neil Pasricha then came and commented on my blog! This is the author of two #1 International Bestselling books! I was so thrilled. I emailed Neil to thank him, and that began a back and forth, where I was able to ask him his blogging tips.

The bottom of line of all these lessons is to engage. Blogging is about community. It’s most successful not as a solitary endeavor but when you enlist the help of others, and in turn help them, too.

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Wow I am kinda impress by how many answers your post has. You all deserved it, but as i’m starting a blog and looking forward for tip like that, i’m happy to figure how it works for you. Congratulation, the topic is very interesting since blogging is taking so much time and asking so much more organisation I tought!

I too am going to copy this great information. I started blogging this year and have tried to do it daily but find I am not disciplined enough. Plus I am all over the place. Anyway I think you share was wonderful and good luck in the future.

This is wonderful! Great tips! I hope I’ll be able to pull it through. I’m new at blogging. And really I’m not good with words I just wanted several things that interests me to share to others. Now this tips can give me ideas to promote my blog and give something unique and useful to share.

Thank you Erica. I had read about the importance of commenting on other blogs before, but I didn’t know how that could help. You cleared that up. I even checked my account settings to be sure people could link to me by clicking on my name. Slowly I am getting a small following and more clicks on my posts. I find posting on a regular basis a challenge, but I’ll get that worked out. Thanks again.

Thanks for your generous advice which, whilst based on common sense and manners, still contains points which are highly valuable, especially to newcomers.
I went into running a blog with virtually no idea of what it involved, nor with any strategies for making it work. Genuine help such as you’ve offered certainly helps smooth the way. Much appreciated!

WoW! Thanks so much for the offering advice on how to connect with other bloggers and being consistent. I am fairly new to the blogging world. I have a few blogs posted but I don’t get to navigate that much to other bloggers page so I now set time aside just to read and connect with others to find the commonality that I may have. There is a wealth of information stored on here and so much to learn. I appreciate you sharing. Carry on… :-)

Great post! I think you and your readers might also be interested in my blog [link here]. (I’m kidding. Besides, I can’t even figure out how to add links without consulting a step-by-step guide I’ve pasted into a Word document).
Thanks for the blog advice!

I am not very old blogger…I have started just one and half years back…..and everyday is a new learning day for me. Today, also I have learnt something. Thank you very much. I congratulate you for the wonderful writing and it is very valuable for me.

Thank you for these lovely suggestions. Yes ,being new to blogging can be daunting. I should confess I haven’t engaged with other bloggers as I seem not to have the time to put in a decent comment. I suppose if I want my blogs to be successful, I will need to put read properly what has been written and put in a bit more effort.
Thanks a lot once again.

Yes, blogging can be daunting if you are new to it. This piece of advice is extremely helpful. I will need to set some quality time in future to read and decently respond to other blogs. Thanks again for this!

This is really good advice on a number of levels. You’ve really attacked the situation from agents to the blogging community and best of all perseverance. I’m relatively new to the blogging community, and had not realized the value it has for an novelist – just thought of it as time away from writing. But I’m beginning to realize the sense of community there is & I think the aspect of supporting each other is the crucial part of the post. I’ve long thought that competition is healthy and in the same vein I think share the wealth is the same. Without each others help none of us will get anywhere. Thanks so much for the post. A.K.

This is the very first time I have ever commented on a blog. I only signed-up to WordPress a few minutes ago. I am so happy and excited that you were the very first blog I have ever read and commented on. Thank you so much for all your the wonderful tips. I certainly do appreciate it very much. Now I can… “Get out of bed to a good start
with a cool head and a warm heart.”

Thank you. This is such good advice. I have had a blog for some time and continue to work at expanding my audience. Yes, I too have seen too many self promotions. My problem is how to get people motivated to comment. Many contact me in other ways…phone, e-mail, person to person, but never a comment.

I really enjoyed your post. I think it is wise as well as amazing in terms of meeting people you will get along with – especially in a new place but I guess, as you suggest, blogging and social media in general, is an online community where everyone needs to show courtesy and interest in what others are saying too. Thanks.

This was a wonderful post, as a new blogger myself I am working on launching my freelance writing career and I love reading post like this it helps to understand the work and time it will take to get yourself out there. I know a lot of people will be intimidated when they see the time you spent to do all this but I find it helpdful and reassuring. Thank you for the tips!

The problem I have with my blogs: is finding the right enthusiasm and relevant subject to post about, getting a quiet time when the first point is working, and doing it in a short time. The final point – completing it in a short time, thats my main issue; I tend to take hours typing something up and am very self-conscious of what I’m saying, how I’m saying it, what I might give away about who I am, what mistakes I’m making and what people will think of it.
I’m also not great with small talk, so commenting on other peoples blogs is difficult!

This is wonderful advice. Thank you for sharing your ideas. I agree that blogging is about community building. I often browse other design, home and family blogs for ideas but I never thought to leave a comment or even reference them on my own blog. Something to consider. I am certainly inspired by others, sharing the wealth helps everyone!

I like the idea of community that you talk about. That’s what I’ve noticed with any ‘world of people’ within any specific field of work or interest. I’m doing some blogging work for some folks right now, and I’ve saved this post for good reference and examples. Thank you Erica and Rachel.

We are travelling by bicycle around the world. Sometimes you feel low about being in a place that is difficult to find a rhythum with. Most of the time you just want to share and inspire about the great people we have met. We started our blog before we started to travel and took advice from the writers of good similar blogs. Having a community has helped us a great deal. Thanks Worpress and the blogging community. You may only know 1 similar minded individual in the place you live, but on the WWW. there will be hundreds.

I’ve been trying to read comments and respond when it is something that I’m interested in. You’re right that you need to be sincere and allow others to know what you’re all about. LOts of good advice here for new bloggers! I’m new and feel I’ve had lots of success in only four months. I look forward to comments and new followers. One of these days I hope to be Freshly Pressed! Congrats on your bestselling book!

I’ve always been a commenter on other blogs before eventually starting one of my own, which is when the bloggers of the blogs I comment on become commenters of my blog as well. So I can vouch for tip number one as commenting on other blogs is essential in becoming part of the blogosphere.

Thanks for the tips!
A few weeks ago I started my own blog with the same idea of Rachel’s, but I didn’t know about her till today!
I also want to write a book, but tThe difference is that i’m writing my experiences as short stories and in Spanish.
I’m sure Rachel’s tips will help me a lot, thanks again!

I really appreciate your advice, particularly the part about using the blog to build readership for a future book publication. I, too am new to blogging, and I am really enjoying it. Meeting new people and building relationships is the best part and certainly makes this big world smaller. Just look at all of us: complete strangers in a discussion. How cool is that?

Thank you for this post it was very helpful. I have steadfastly refused to read or create a blog for years. Recently I decided to give it a go and was struggling how to begin. I’m still unsure but willing to try and I like the community aspect of this posting.

Just finished reading your article “Bestselling Author Shares 3 Tips for Building Your Blog Audience” on WordPress.com. Wow I believe i learned something from you today. I have always included my blog link in my comments, starting today I will discontinue doing so. Just wanted to thank you for the article, now I will read some of your posts on this blog. Charles

That’s so helpful as I am so scared and not sure if anyone reads ones blog, but like you said if u comment and read others, it helps. I normally just read and never comment, and yet I think some are so brave writing whatever is near and dear to them.

Great! very very thanx 4 informative not only informative but also very deeply heartly infomative helpfull tips u shared here for us, I really liked urs blog,
I thank u once again by my herat.
God bless u, Thanking u

Well done for successfully pitching prior to writing! And thank you for sharing your tips. The community aspect of blogging is why I prefer it to an ordinary website – there is a feeling of being a bit closer to people and it’s also nice to share a bit of yourself through your writing! :)

Thank you so much for these tips. I’m fairly new to blogging and am loving the way I’m becoming part of a community of bloggers all over the world. I shall also print these off as Linda Apple suggests.

I read this few times and I recently had amazing experience with my family, so I started to write down what I’ve experienced but turned out it’s nothing. Your advice made me think how to manage blogging as social media as well as Facebook and Twitter, thank you.

This is exactly what I needed to know. Im writing a book myself & I just got into blogging 18 days ago. Thank you for these tips Erica, you’ve made me feel like my efford to express myself won’t fall on deaf ears.

Thank you very much for your post. I am a new writer with one book under my belt, and have already started blogging to build a presence. Good to know that with time and patience, success is possible. Thanks!

Thank you so much for the ideas. I have just started blogging And quite frankly I don’t know what I’m doing lol. I just feel the need to either start conversations or post inspirational sayings or advice. It’ll be nice to see where this goes. I enjoyed your post and way to go on being a best seller. One can only dream of something so great right. Thanks again

Great tips! I’ve found out that the blogging community is full of people really intrested in what others are doing & how it can invariabily help them in what they are doing. This is unlike other kinds of social media networking outlets, where persons are more about getting others interest in what they are doing firstly. There is a compelling difference in these approaches & it stands out that the blogging communities’ is more genuine.

All your tips are very attached to reality, and I congratulate you on your spontaneity, very commendable Finally, it should always be given credit where credit is deserved, and acknowledge the help given to us, even if not directly .

Thank you for reaching back helping newbies like me. I’ve always loved reading, blogging has merged that love with my love of people,places, and things oh my. It’s a wonderful community, and the bloggers share and comment and it means the world to me when you’re acknowledged. We all want to feel apart of something . Once again thank you and congratulations on your book.